Love the way it Hurts
by titaundomiel
Summary: Cobb and Ariadne have an argument during the Fisher job. A secret santa gift for qiushuwen at architectsgifts on LJ.


**Author's Note: This piece was written for a Secret Santa exchange organised by ArchitectsGift down at LJ. The recipient was qiushuwen, who gave me the prompt and wrote the lovely OP note! Also thanks to my wonderful beta reader, Maggie, for taking the time to edit this one!**

**OP Note**: One thing that surprised me when I watch the film is that Ariadne pushes and pushes her way into Cobb's personal life and I kept expecting him to lash out, but he doesn't really. I love this fic because this could have been one those instances. **tita_undomiel** captures the tension wonderfully.

**Warning: **Rough sex

"_I'm the fury in your head_

_I'm the fury in your bed_

_I'm the ghost in the back of your head"_

Spanish Sahara, Foals

Ariadne dreaded the sound of his cell phone.

She used to avoid it by exiting the warehouse to give him some well-deserved space. But not anymore…

Now she stayed and listened to him pleading to his mother-in-law for just one more minute. The woman on the other side of the line never gave in, not once, and Ariadne resented this woman she had never met. She felt her heart clench at the sound of Cobb's frantic breathing coming from the warehouse's damaged bathroom.

He would stay there for a few minutes, perhaps trying to gather the courage to face her and all the stupid questions she fought to ask. She used to notice how his eyes glimmered, reddened by tears he did not dare to set free. Probably for her sake, she'd like to think, because he was her rock, keeping her grounded, in the calm before the storm that she knew would eventually come.

If he fell apart, it would be only a matter of seconds before she followed him down.

She found herself closing the distance between her makeshift studio and the cold bathroom he was in. Her mind told her to stop, turn around, because it really was none of her business, but her legs kept on going, pushing her toward him as if she and Cobb were two magnets, unable to stay apart.

As she made her way to him, she noticed that everybody else had already left, and the silence was disturbed only by her light footsteps and a running tap. She reached the door, and peered inside. His back was turned to her as he leaned onto the sink, splashing water against his face. His body was tense and she could swear that she had never seen him this close to losing it.

When he looked up into the mirror, he saw her small figure reflected over his left shoulder. They made eye contact, and he resented the pity on her eyes. He did not need her sympathy. He did not need _her_, period.

He turned off the tap and run a towel over his face, waiting for her to break the silence. She always did.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, entering the bathroom with small, apprehensive steps.

He threw the towel to the floor and gripped the sides of the cold porcelain sink, feeling an unexpected rage run through his whole body. He was so tired of fighting her off, trying helplessly to keep her away. She always found a way to break through his defenses and collapse the walls of his subconscious. Even standing five feet away from her, like he stood now, he could feel her scent, intoxicating, tempting him to let her in completely.

"Get out," he whispered, his voice rough and filled with anger.

She looked puzzled rather than scared, and he looked down, avoiding the reflection of her questioning eyes on the broken mirror.

"I… I was worried about you." She felt the need to justify her presence there.

He chuckled sadly, a sound of defeat. "Don't be," he said simply.

She inhaled deeply, preparing to admit something that had been taken hostage inside her mind, never to be revealed - until now.

"I can't help it." Her voice trembled, and she could feel a lump form on her throat.

He turned and stormed toward her so fast that she stumbled backwards against the cold tile wall. His face was wild, his hair still dripping, and for the first time, she could not help but fear him: in front of her stood Dominick Cobb, the cold-hearted extractor.

He towered over her, so close she could feel his hot breath caressing her face. In the inches separating them, there was a magnetic field, pulling them closer. Yes, she was scared, but at the same time, her body ran high on adrenaline because they had never been this close before, and if they were both honest, it had been a long time coming.

"Haven't you seen enough?" he taunted her.

She knew that he was talking about himself and all that she had found about his past. She had to admit that if the circumstances were different, she would probably have left the team to fend for themselves. But she cared about them, and she cared about him even more.

She held her ground, still feeling the tile wall against her back, a solid reminder that she was trapped. "No," she said finally.

His gaze did not leave hers. "Don't you get tired of asking questions?"

She frowned, realizing how unfair he was being to her. "I ask questions because I need to understand what the hell is going on!" she snapped at him.

He was surprised by her reaction and immediately he pulled back, giving her space, as if the accusations she threw at him were physically hitting his body.

"Don't put all this shit on me, Cobb." She raised her voice, turning the tables. "I'm the one that had to leave everything behind to do this impossible job!"

He looked down in what could be called embarrassment and whispered the words as if they were painful for him to say. "It's not your job to get into my head…"

Her heart sank at the honesty in his words. She walked toward him, almost tip-toeing so as not to scare him away, and tried to make eye contact with him. When he finally looked at her, his blue eyes glistened and she could swear that she had never seen him this defeated.

"If you want me to leave, just say it," she pleaded, giving up completely. "Just promise me that everything will be OK with them, and I'll leave."

Without any warning, he crushed his lips to hers, pulling her small body close to his larger frame. After the initial shock, she was able to respond to his demanding kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to give herself some much-needed leverage.

He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He swayed them across the room and placed her on the sink to negate the difference in their heights. He pulled away, coming up for air, and let his forehead rest against hers.

Ariadne cupped his face, caressing his cheeks with her slender fingers. She caught his eyes, trying to make sure that he knew what he was doing. She could see the guilt in his eyes, surely threatening to pull him away before it was too late.

"I need you, Ariadne." Her heart skipped a beat as she heard him say those words. "I need you, so I can get through this."

Dom felt guilty for admitting it to her, because he knew that she would never say no to him and leave. He wasn't stupid! He was completely aware of the effect he had on her. She was young, too young. And he should know better. But he couldn't resist it anymore. He didn't want to.

Her hands moved from his face to his hair as she pulled him down for a deep kiss.

They fucked on the sink. It _was_ fucking, punctuated with moments that left a promise of something more. Her eyes darkened with pleasure as he thrust inside her, making her arch her body to meet him. Their moans echoed through the empty warehouse and she was thankful for the deserted neighborhood.

"Oh, fuck." Her voice came out ragged and she held onto his neck for support, while with her other hand she grabbed the sink.

They came together, her small body trembling against his as they both shuddered in ecstasy. She could feel his hot breath on the crock of her neck as he whispered indecipherable words against her skin. Ariadne let her head rest against his shoulder as they both tried to catch their breath. She could hear his heartbeat slowly come back down to normal and she thought that she could really get used to this, listening to his heartbeat.

The guilt he had felt before had evaporated somehow. He needed this, needed _her;_ her skin, her body… She was his lifeline, holding him together. For that moment in time, the circumstances they were in, the age difference… none of it mattered. She may have not noticed it yet, but she was picking up the pieces of the broken man he was.

The End.

**Please, review!**


End file.
